Bell Work • What types of immigrants were coming to the US during the Antebellum period? – Which ones were liked? – Which ones were disliked?
Jan 21, 2016
Bell Work
• What types of immigrants were coming to the US during the Antebellum period?– Which ones were liked?– Which ones were disliked?
Irish ImmigrationIrish Immigration• Irish Potato Famine 1845-1849• Main ports of entry – New York,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston• Irish were too poor to move inland and
farm so they stayed in the cities– Boston did not particularly like the Irish –
catholic, illiterate, poor – “No Irish need apply!”
• Ancient Order of Hibernians– Benevolent society to help Irish– Spawned “Molly Maguires” (miners union)
• Gradually improved and became active politically
– NY’s Tammany Hall, Irish political machine
German ImmigrationGerman Immigration
• Most Germans came due to crop failures– Germans better off than Irish, came west,
many to Wisconsin
• A few were political refugees from collapse of democratic revolutions in 1848
• German contributions include Kentucky rifle, Christmas tree, kindergarten, and abolitionists
• Some Americans were suspicious because they tried to preserve language, culture and lived in separate communities, and drank beer
Sources of Immigration,
1840-60
Sources of Immigration,
1840-60
Settlements of ImmigrantsSettlements of Immigrants
•Irish in Northeastern cities: New York and Boston
•Germans would settle in Midwest
Early NativismEarly Nativism• American “nativists” feared 1840s &
1850s invasion of immigrants– Took jobs, grew Roman Catholicism– Catholics built their own schools, were #1
denomination by 1850• 1849: Nativists form Order of the Star-
Spangled Banner, developed into “Know-Nothing” party
– Wanted immigration restrictions– Nativists occasionally violent, burned Boston
convent (1834) – Philadelphia Irish fought back, 13 killed in
several days of fighting (1844)
The “Know-Nothings” [The American Party]
The “Know-Nothings” [The American Party]
ß Nativists.
ß Anti-Catholics.
ß Anti-immigrants.
ß Nativists.
ß Anti-Catholics.
ß Anti-immigrants.1849 Secret Order of the
Star-Spangled Banner created in NYC.
1849 Secret Order of the Star-Spangled Banner created in NYC.
Industry Changes
• A shift from goods made by hand to factory and mass production
• Technological innovations brought production from farmhouse to factories– Invented in Britain in 1750; smuggled to U.S.– Beginning of US Factory System
• US slow to embrace factory system– Scarce labor– Little capital– Superiority of British factories
Resourcefulness & Experimentation
Resourcefulness & Experimentation
Americans were willing to try Americans were willing to try
anything. anything.
They were first copiers, thenThey were first copiers, then innovators. innovators.
Americans were willing to try Americans were willing to try
anything. anything.
They were first copiers, thenThey were first copiers, then innovators. innovators.1800 1800 41 patents were 41 patents were approved.approved.
1860 1860 4,357 “ “ “4,357 “ “ “
1800 1800 41 patents were 41 patents were approved.approved.
1860 1860 4,357 “ “ “4,357 “ “ “
•Eli Whitney’s cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry.
•He is also noted for the concept of mass production and
interchangeable parts by creating dyes for pistols and rifles.
•Very important early pioneer in America’s industrial revolution.
The invention which changed
the South, cotton and slavery.
Whitney Ends the Fiber Famine
• Cotton gin invented in 1793– 50 times more effective than hand picking
• Raising cotton more profitable– South needs slavery more than ever for “King Cotton”
New England factories flourish with Southern cotton
Cotton Gin
Increased exports for the SouthPlanters became rich
Increased demand for slaves
Effects
Eli Whitney’s Gun FactoryEli Whitney’s Gun Factory
Interchangeable Parts RifleInterchangeable Parts Rifle
•1830s, Industrialization
grew throughout the North…
•Southern cotton shipped to Northern
textile mills was a good working relationship.
Workers & Wage Slaves
Workers & Wage Slaves
• With industrial revolution, large impersonal factories surrounded by slums full of “wage slaves” developed
• Long hours, low wages, unsanitary conditions, lack of heat, etc.
– Labor unions illegal
• 1820: 1/2 of industrial workers were children under 10
Workers & Wage Slaves
Workers & Wage Slaves
• 1820s & 1830s: right to vote for laborers– Loyalty to Democratic party led to improved
conditions
– Fought for 10-hour day, higher wages, better conditions
• 1830s & 1840s: Dozens of strikes for higher wages or 10-hour day– 1837 depression hurt union membership
• Commonwealth v. Hunt – Supreme Court ruled unions not illegal
conspiracies as long as they were peaceful
Women & the Economy
Women & the Economy
• 1850: 10% of white women working for pay outside home– Vast majority of working women were single– Left paying jobs upon marriage
• “Cult of domesticity”– Cultural idea that glorifies homemaker
• Empowers married women– Increased power & independence of women in
home led to decline in family size
Industrialists and Inventors
Development or Invention
Samuel Slater
Francis C. Lowell
Eli Whitney
Samuel F.B. Morse
steamboat
Textile machine
Mass production of textiles
Interchangeable parts
Telegraph; Morse code
Robert Fulton
American Inventions
Transportation Industrialization
Railroads: enabled trains to travel fast and go wherever track was laid
Steamboats: made river travel more reliable
Erie canal: connected the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo N.Y
Manufacturing went from hand tools to large complex machines
Interchangeable parts transformedOne-by-one process into a factoryProcess. Telegraph quickly sentMessages over long-distances
National Road: major east-west Highway that reached from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia)
Skilled artisans gave way to Workers organized by tasks
Factories replaced home- based Work manufactures sold wares nationwide
Highways• Bad roads made transportation highly
unreliable
• The National Road begun in 1811 and completed by 1832– Connected Maryland to Illinois.– Built by US government
Cumberland (National Road), 1811
Erie Canal SystemErie Canal System
Principal Canals in 1840Principal Canals in 1840
Inland Freight RatesInland Freight Rates
•Help unite the country as well as improve the economy and
the infant industry.
•Because of the British
blockade during the War of 1812, it was essential for
internal transportation improvements.
The Railroad Revolution,1850s
The Railroad Revolution,1850s
•1850 to 1860, RR proved most significant development toward national economy
•Americans demanded transcontinental railroad to California.– Completed by 1869.
Pioneer Railroad Promoters
Pioneer Railroad Promoters
• 1800 to 1850: Roads, canals, navigable rivers with steamboats were the main modes of transportation.
• 1850 to 1860, RR proved most significant development toward national economy
• Competition between Railroads and Canals• Obstacles
– opposition from canal backers– danger of fire– poor brakes– difference in track gauge meant changing trains
Effects of the Transportation
Revolution
Effects of the Transportation
Revolution• 1860-61, Pony Express connected East-West• Telegraph instantly sent messages across US• Attraction of many large capital investments
and encouraged risk taking in the US economy
• People moved faster and country expanded– Unifying spirit among fellow country men– A need for a transcontinental railroad that
connected east to west
•Telegraph revolutionized communication
•Would replace the Pony Express by
1861
ECONOMIC?ECONOMIC?
SOCIAL?SOCIAL?
POLITICAL?POLITICAL?
FUTUREPROBLEMS?
FUTUREPROBLEMS?
Wrap Up
• How might these changes affect the role of women in the US?